A TEAM of friends are tackling the Great North Run for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust after seeing the benefits of medical research first-hand.

Kerry England’s daughters Elsie, two, and 15-year-old Courtney have suffered with Cystic Fibrosis from birth.

Thanks to advances in medical technology and research, Elsie’s symptoms have been managed better than her elder sister’s and now friends of the family, plus Mrs England and her 17-year-old son Sam, hope to raise hundreds of pounds for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust to continue its work.

Mel Foster, 38, of Eastbourne, Darlington, met Mrs England through her local gym and said she joined the Great North Run challenge despite the fact that neither she nor any of the group have ever run that far before.

She added: “We have come together as a group to support each other and especially Kerry and Sam in support of Courtney and Elsie.

“Courtney is very poorly and has to go to hospital in Leeds every month, while Elsie is having little treatments and was diagnosed straight away because they knew her sister had Cystic Fibrosis.

“Because Elsie is young, there have been a lot more advances and treatments available to help her than there were for Courtney 15-years-ago.

“That’s why it’s so important to give to these charities because you can really see the difference that research makes.”

The friends are already in solo training for the 13-mile run in Newcastle this September and plan to organise group runs around Darlington to further boost their fitness levels.

Anybody who would like to support them can donate via justgiving.com/Melanie-Foster1